Grip for cable-railway cars



(No Model.)

B. L. HARRIS.- GRI P FOR GABLE RAILWAY CARS.

No. 372,144. Patented bot. 25, 1887.

Lithographer. Wnhingiofl. u, c.

UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

BRADNER L. HARRIS, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JAMES D. LEHMER, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

GRIP FOR CABLE-RAILWAY CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 372,144, dated October 25, 1887. Application filed April 11, 1887. Serial No. 234,447. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BRADNER L. HARRIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grips for Cable-Railway Cars, of which the following is a specification.

My improvements have reference, first, to their simplicity and cost of construction; second, to the durability of the grip itself and the ease with which it can be applied, as well as the rapidity and thoroughness with which it performs the work required; and, third, reducr5 ing the friction on the cable and bringing it to the minimum, thereby preventing the wear and tear on the cable when starting or stopping the cars. This feature of my invention is especially important when it is taken into consideration that the wear of the cables by the use of the grips now employed is such as to entail much trouble, expense, and loss of time in repairs or renewals.

Other advantages could be cited, but in view 2 5 of the foregoing itis deemed unnecessary.

' The invention, as a whole, will be understood from the description herein contained, and by reference to the accompanying drawings, forming part of my application, in

I which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a car having attached to it my gripping apparatus, the cable tunnel or way being cut out in order to expose the position of the parts of my grip when it is grasping and holding'tight the cable. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the grip,

showing it disengaged from the cable. Fig. 3 is a modification of the manner of applying the leveragefrom that shown in Fig. 1, in that 40 it is performed by means of a wheel connected to a rod which has on its lower end a pinion meshing into a rack on the long lever leading to the grip, instead of by a reciprocating draw- -lever direct, as shown in said- Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an end view of the said rack and pinion.

A represents the car, and B the wheels of same running on the track-rail O, whilep and 19, respectively, show the front and rear platforms of the car. D is the cable tunnel or cavity underneath the track, while E represents the guide-rails between which the gripping mechanism passes.

F represents the friction-rollers fastened to the bottom of the cable'tunnel and over which the cable P passes in making its circuit when not taken up and held by the grip.

G G are the rollers which take up and carry the cable as the car is propelled along. These rollers are held and attached to a frame composed of the braces b 6], the braces b 6 being attached bybolts to the under side of the car. A. The rollers Gare held at such an elevation that they will clear the rollers F in the progress of the car over its route.

H, Fig. l, is the operating-lever, which can beheld in or at any desired angle by engaging it with the segment-rack S.

To the bottom of the operating-lever is pivoted a rod, T, which extends beneath the car and is connected at its rear end to a lever, L, which in turn is pivoted to and operates the link R. The lever L works on fulcrum t, attached to standard U, the latter being affixed to the bottom of the car intermediate between the'frame-braces b e.

Loosely pivoted to the standard U is an arm,

Y, which carries the gripping and anti-friction Wheel W. To the pivot or axle on which this wheel turns is attached the rear end of link R.

I is a springrunning between the bottom of So the car and the arm Y, whereby assistance is rendered in bringing the wheel W back to its normal position-that is, the position which it would occupy when the gripping-force is removed off the cable, as seen in Fig. 2. Now, suppose the parts occupy their normal positions, as seen in said Fig. 2, it will readily be seen that when lever H is pushed back its lower end will throw rod T forward, bringing with it the upper end oflever L,which,working 0 on its fulcrum 15, will draw in link R and the attached arm Y, together with its affixed binding-wheel W. As the wheel is drawn in it will-exert a binding or wedging influence on the cable which is between it and one of the 5 wheels G. The cable is meanwhile sliding between the said carrying and binding wheels, which, revolving, take thereoffinuch of the friction and consequent wear and tear; and it will continue to so slide until the exerted IOO wedging-pressure on the cable, which is held between the said wheels, is such as will firmly grasp and hold said cable, as seen in Fig. 1, and the stronger the force exerted the firmer will be the grip.

Instead of using a lever, such as H, for operating the grip and release of the cable, I may use the mechanism shown in Figs. 3 and 4- viz., a wheel, J, attached to a bar, H, provided on its lower end with a pinion, 0, which meshes in a rack, 0-, formed on the front end of rod T. As will be seen, the gripping mechanism can be operated just as effectively by this arrangement as the one heretofore described,and it can be firmly held in position by theproper attachment of an ordinary ratchet-wheel and pawl, as they are now used for holding the brakes of a street-car. The diameter of the clinching-wheel W is preferably larger than the diameter of the carrying-wheel. for the purpose of having a larger bearingsurface, and preventing the arm Y and its wheel from passing the center in other words, from describing more than a fraction of a circle-so that the wedgiug of the cable between the two wheels will be all the stronger; and the fact that the cable is subjected to two forces by the wheels G and NV, one acting in one direction, the other in an opposite one, as indicated by the arrows, tends to tighten the grip effected.

It may be repeated that by the use of my invention the cable does not undergo the wear and tear incident to a sudden grasping or release. The friction on both gripping mechanism and cable is reduced to the minimum, for the cable will slide along in its bearings, and as the grasp is being effected the upper and lower wheels will revolve in opposite directions, gradually wedging the cable between them until the limit of the wedging-power is reached and the cable held fast for practical purposes. Moreover, the mechanism of my grip is simple, easily understood and constructed, is durable, and in operation it is effective.

I claim- 1. In a grip for cable-railway cars, a movable arm, as Y, pivoted to a standard, U, af-

fixed to the under side of a car and provided with a wheel, W, in combination with cablesupporting rollers G G, held in position by proper braces, the link R, attached to arm Y and connected lever L, intermediate rod, T,

andsuitablehaud-operating niechanism,whereby the wheel I is made capable of bearing against the cable and wedging it between one of the supporting-rollers or releasing it, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a cable system for railway-cars,a grip whereby the cable is held or released for purposes of propelling or stopping the car, com prising the following elements: a frame attached to the under side of the ear and supporting cable-bearing rollers, a standard, U,

above and between said rollers, in combination with the pivoted arm Y, its affixed roller,link R, lever L,and rod T, the latter being provided on its front end with a rack, as 1', whereby,

through pinion 0, wheel J, and intermediate spindle, H, the said rod, levers, and bindingroller are operated, substantially as shown and described.

3. In a cable system for railway-cars, the

propelling-cable, in combination with a carrying-frame and friction-bearing rollers G, arm Y, attached to a standard above and between said rollers, said arm carrying a bindingroller, W, which is capable of being lowered and raised through theinstrumentality of link connected and supported substantially as 0 shown and described, and for the purposes specified.

BRADNER L. HARRIS. Witnesses:

CHARLES LEHMER, BERNARD WARNDORFF. 

